Media pens letter of protest over lack of White House photo access

posted at 3:31 pm on November 24, 2013 by Jazz Shaw

I’m not sure which is the more surprising aspect of this story… that it took so long to happen or that it happened at all. In any event, with very little fanfare or coverage on cable news, a significant portion of the national news outlets got together on Thursday and sent a letter to Press Secretary Jay Carney. In it, they assembled a list of complaints about the squelching of access to behind the scenes events at the White House for photographers in the press corps.

Friday’s White House “Photo of the Day” seems fairly innocuous at first glance. President Obama, in the Oval Office, is surrounded by eight photojournalists as he signs a bill into law.

But that particular photo comes courtesy of the White House just one day after 38 news organizations and journalistic institutions, en masse, penned a letter of protest to Press Secretary Jay Carney, asking that the Obama administration stop simply sending out their own photos and allow more access to photographers and videographers.

Some journalists interpreted Friday’s photo as the White House attempting to sweep the issue under the rug, while others figured it a subliminal “screw you.”

In case you missed it on the front page, here is the “screw you” photo in question.

We write to protest the limits on access currently barring photographers who cover the White House. We hope this letter will serve as the first step in removing these restrictions and, therefore, we also request a meeting with you to discuss this critical issue further.

Journalists are routinely being denied the right to photograph or videotape the President while he is performing his official duties. As surely as if they were placing a hand over a journalist’s camera lens, officials in this administration are blocking the public from having an independent view of important functions of the Executive Branch of government.

Notice anyone missing there? Did MSNBC skip it, or are they covered under the umbrella of “NBC News”?

They do raise an interesting point as the letter continues. It’s not just a matter of the White House holding certain events which they define as “private” and barring access to photographers. (There are certainly some events, particularly those dealing with national security, where they might not want photos splashed all over the press.) What seems to really have put a bee in the media’s collective bonnet is when Obama shuts their photographers out of these “private” events, but then immediately takes their own pictures and sends them out on Twitter and posts them on the official White House web site. The photo above is one example of that, being an official White House picture of their own. It’s not hard to see why that one comes off as a bit of a middle finger salute to those doing the complaining.

There is little doubt at this point that the Obama administration has been one of the most closely and carefully managed media operations in the nation’s history. They don’t just try to control the carefully crafted message and talking points – with harsh penalties for those who express any independent thoughts or opinions – but they also work to lock down every image which the public gets to see. It’s all part of the packaging and selling of the world changing, transformative, historic presidency unfolding before our eyes. Or at least what we’re allowed to see.

Isn’t this the second time we have heard the press growl about the White House while licking the Obama hand. If they really want a point to be made try anyone of the mired scandals out their and report on it until we have meaningful answers. To the lazy press here are some scandals IRS, Benghazi, Census Bureau (unemployment figures cooked), Obama Care and many more.

I love how there’s never anything on his desk. Yes, I know, Presidential Study or whatever, but seriously, look at that picture and ask yourself if that’s an office where someone actually works. It looks like a soundstage.

Oh, a strongly worded letter, what will democrats do?? Liberals don’t care what anyone says about them, they are proved to be hypocrites every day, they don’t care a wit about how they look. Just look at the filibuster, does anyone think they care if they are total hypocrites? They don’t and neither does their voters. I don’t know why Republicans are so worried about stuff like this when dems live by different rules. Republicans are never going to win if they don’t start fighting fire with fire.

The media should refuse to print these pictures and bury the corresponding stories on the back page. Big O would soon beg for more coverage. On second thought maybe he likes the secrecy to plan the destruction of our great heritage.

When the media starts the daily and regular hammering of the ‘most open and transparent Administration ever’ falsehood, then I will start to pay attention to their whinging and ‘strongly worded letters’.

I love how there’s never anything on his desk. Yes, I know, Presidential Study or whatever, but seriously, look at that picture and ask yourself if that’s an office where someone actually works. It looks like a soundstage.

JeremiahJohnson on November 24, 2013 at 4:39 PM

All he needs to know about ‘governing’ was covered in his indoctrinations by Bill Ayers, Saul Alinsky, Frank Marshall Davis, Edward Said, Karl Marx, Jean-Paul Marat, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Chairman Mao. It’s all committed to memory. He just has to make every decision based on ideological / political grounds.

Five years of Obama-framed-as-Messiah photos, including many or most from the MSM, and now they find it isn’t enough to maintain the propaganda image. Every now and then, some shot of Obama on a bicycle with helmet and kneepads and bike shorts looking like some special needs kid sent out to ride on the driveway ONLY by Mom sneaks out, or a picture of him in golf shorts (but never an actual shot) also looking stupid is printed, so they just cut the photographers off completely.

Notice he doesn’t throw out the first ball at baseball games anymore? Too many Americans know ten year old girls who throw better. And don’t wear Mom jeans.

If the press corps were serious, they would beat up Carney and deposit him in a heap on the White House Lawn.

An aide to Vice President Joe Biden has apologised to a reporter who was locked in a closet for hours after he was invited to cover a Florida political fundraiser because they did not want him talking with the guests.

Spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said the decision to hold local reporter Scott Powers there was a ‘mistake’.

And she claimed an inexperienced staffer had put Powers in the closet instead of a ‘hotel room’ as was their normal practice.

She explained that the closet was chosen because of its ‘close proximity’ to the room where Mr Biden was speaking, and that it had a table and chair where the reporter could work, as well as open space.
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Geez, am I suppose to be impressed that a group of people who have been on their knees in front of this empty suit, assiduously ignoring any chance of finding anything at all about him are now p.o.’d because they don’t have enough pictures of him? Give me a big fat break.